Beach-driving stats reveal safety clues

Carol Cunningham will never forget her last day on the beach in Daytona Beach.

"I had my book and my pop and I was just going to enjoy the afternoon," said the Nebraska mental health professional who vacationed here in May 2008. "All of a sudden I felt the chair move."

"I turned around and saw this huge truck with big tires pushing my chair," she said.

In that instant, she became one of 46 people struck by a vehicle -- car, truck, all-terrain vehicle or golf cart -- on Volusia County beaches in the past six years.

Most of the incidents pass with little notice, or even news coverage, until someone dies. That happened twice this year -- two 4-year-olds -- and sparked an intense debate about what, if anything, the county could do to make the popular tradition safer or whether it should even continue.

That discussion continues Thursday when the Volusia County Council considers what it hopes to see from a consultant to be hired to review beach safety.

A comprehensive News-Journal review of every vehicle crash involving a pedestrian on the beach since 2005 found the crashes can be blamed on many things, but a few statistics indicate factors the county might want to consider.

Like Cunningham, a majority of the "pedestrians" hit on the beach really aren't pedestrians at all. The News-Journal found more people were hit while sitting in a chair or lying on the beach than doing any other single activity.

A third of the crashes took place while drivers were backing up.

Those two numbers -- the backing crashes and the 17 victims hit while sitting or lying on the beach -- may indicate a visibility issue the county could tackle as it reviews beach safety measures, said traffic engineer Sans Lassister, owner of Lassiter Transportation in Daytona Beach. Lassiter was asked by The News-Journal to take a quick look at the statistics.

The review also shows most crashes occur in March and July, when the beach is at its busiest. The two months account for half the accidents. The county's Beach Policy advisory board has suggested the county consider special safety measures during those busiest times.

A TEST OF TRADITION

The world-famous tradition of driving on local beaches got its start before cars even existed, with historic photos showing early residents on the beach with horses and buggies. It later became synonomous with early stock-car racing. Any move to take cars off any section of the beach is always bitterly disputed.

A 1985 state law banned beach driving, but a carefully worded exception, amended in 1989, allows Volusia County to continue the practice under the terms of its charter, which gives residents the right to access the beach and links driving to parking availability.

Controversy over beach driving has simmered for decades, but it exploded in July when Aiden Patrick of New Smyrna Beach became the second 4-year-old this year to die on a local beach after colliding with a vehicle.

The ultimate decision to leave cars on the beach or remove them is up to the County Council. Council members remain divided over the issue, with at least one at each end of the spectrum. A majority of the seven council members remain deeply conflicted over what should happen on the beach.

After the boy's death, the county launched a campaign to highlight car-free zones and off-beach parking, de-emphasize beach cruising and ramp up efforts to promote beach safety, including adding hundreds of new informational signs.

The council also directed county staff in July to hire a consultant to look at beach driving. Council members suggested the consultant could look at additional safety measures and consider where more car-free zones could be created.

County officials say they expect to hire the consultant within 30 days. However, the manager's $50,000 spending authority is expected to limit the study's scope.

The proposed scope of work for the study is expected to go to the council Thursday, County Chairman Frank Bruno said. Among the tasks listed on the draft scope of work are a review of existing literature, studies and reports regarding beach safety on Volusia beaches, an analysis of available traffic incident data and evaluation of the effectiveness of current safety intiatives and the potential for one-way traffic patterns.

"FREE RANGE" PEDESTRIANS

Traffic engineers say the problem with the beach is that it's a continuous intersection.

On conventional roads, most crashes occur at intersections because they contain the most points for potential conflict, said Joan Carter, bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for the Florida Department of Transportation's regional office in DeLand.

On the beach, conflict points are everywhere.

Vehicles can approach from any direction and so can pedestrians, Carter said. Not only are the pedestrians "free range," they can also be in almost any position.

Given the tremendous number of cars -- 920,000 in 2009 -- and the huge number of beachgoers, Carter and Lassiter say the rate of crashes isn't all that high.

When everything is considered, Carter said, it's "remarkable that there are so few incidents."

Statistically, the chances are probably greater to be bitten by a shark. During the same period those 46 beachgoers were hit, 61 were bitten by sharks while swimming and surfing along Volusia beaches.

Given the many activities that occur on the beach every day, traffic engineers say risk is unavoidable.

The beach is part parking lot, swimming pool, park and picnic area all at the same time. Experts compare it to picnicking, sunbathing and playing in a busy mall parking lot.

The goal should be to "make it (beach driving) as safe as you can," Lassiter said.

The task for any consultant that eventually wins a county contract will be to look at specific ways to reduce crashes, he said, such as the high number of crashes that involve backing vehicles or people sitting and lying down.

For example, the county could consider requiring all sunbathers to move completely away from parked cars, perhaps even on the other side of the driving lanes, he said. And, if there's not enough room for a parking area, driving lanes and a sunbathing/play area, he said the county may need to close more areas when the tide is high and the beach is busiest.

Carol Cunningham was hit during the month with the third most crashes, on May 17, 2008.

With tires and a bumper staring her in the face, Cunningham said she was able to "roll off her chair."

"It was kind of scary," she said. "People were screaming" and she was screaming at the 22-year-old male driver of the pickup.

"We got him to stop," she said. As she walked back "very shaken up" to the condo where she was staying, people who saw the accident were stopping her.

"They thought I was a goner," she said. They told her she was "lucky to be alive."